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SILICON VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, April 26, 2003: In an effort to raise cultural awareness about the Sikh community, all public elementary school students in California will receive a new coloring and activity book which explains why Sikh boys and men wear turbans and refrain from cutting their hair. Introducing the book entitled “The Boy With Long Hair,” Lt. Governor Cruz M. Bustamante said, “This project will educate children about cultural diversity and help promote an understanding and acceptance of our differences. Following the terrorist attacks against America and the resulting suspicion and violence towards Sikh and Arab Americans, this project is more than timely. After completing the lesson, I hope that students will learn that California’s diversity is something to celebrate,” said Bustamante. The book’s writer and illustrator, Pushpinder Singh, hoped the book would help develop some understanding about the challenges facing Sikh children so that they were able to follow their traditions with pride and be treated with friendliness by their peers. HPI adds: Similar books could be developed for other minority religions, including Hinduism.

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